Guardians of Neopia: Darkness Creeping
by Alkuna
Summary: Resurrected from ancient archives, I give you the sequel to Guardians Of Neopia! Darkness takes on a new form... and it's tired of hiding from the light! Can the two Guardians stop them in time? Only one way to find out...
1. Evil Incarnate

by alkuna

Also by luvinnemiousis

Author's Note: One of the things an author must never forget is that a fan will always be eager to read your work… no matter how long ago it was written or how crappy you feel it is compared to your skills today. Years after giving up on Neopets, the sequel to my first Guardians Of Neopia resurfaced at the hands of a dedicated fan: nightelf37, who rediscovered it in the depths of the Neopian Times archives. I salute you, nightelf37! Enjoy!

Evil Incarnate

Thunder boomed so loud I was nearly knocked out of the sky late on the night that trouble came about. Dripping wet, cold and miserable, I shouldered the door open to our two-story house. By our, I mean Luvinnemiousis and mine. My name is Alkuna.

A short time ago we were turned into Neopets and pulled through our computers and into the world of Neopia. We had a big battle with the Dark Faerie, along with many other owners who had also been trapped in Neopet form. We won, thankfully, and for leading the battles, we were dubbed the Guardians of Neopia by the Faerie Queen herself. After our war with the Dark Faerie, Luvin and I pitched our Neopoints together to buy ourselves a nice big house to put all of our pets in. But I'm getting distracted....

Luvin jogged in quickly and threw a towel over my shoulders as I reverted to my human form and made for the bathroom. I could tell she wanted to know what I had scouted out on this night but first things first. I had to get warm. A quick hot shower and some dry clothes later I squeezed in between Alkuna (my Lupe named after me) and Mercolagos and yielded my lap to my Poogle, Vhai. LaCody, my other Gelert, trotted over and placed her chin on my knees.

"Any sign?" Luvin asked me.

I shook my head, "Dark, rain and wet plants. Not that I expected to really see anything in this kind of weather anyway..."

Something laughed hollowly in the darkness of the hallway. My Lupe, Alkuna, sprang to her feet in an instant, always ready for a rough fight with intruders. I put my hand on her shoulder to restrain her as a softly glowing Lupe walked slowly out of the hall and into the dim living room.

"Really... you would think the Guardians of Neopia would have something better to do then chase around some petty pant devil that took off with somebody's bike," the Ghost Lupe sneered, "Or coming after me just because I chased a Chia around in his home...leave that to the newbies who want to show off to everyone else as the Defenders of Neopia. I have something far more challenging, and it's what you're supposed to be doing anyway..."

Alkuna pulled away from me, and the two slowly circled one another as he talked. Alkuna was stiff legged and glaring while the Ghost Lupe was lazy and sneering in contempt at her.

"And just what does the Ghost Lupe know that is so important?" Luvin asked, raising an eyebrow, "Surely he has better houses to haunt than a house where no one is afraid of him."

The Ghost Lupe glared at her, "You're right, normally I do, but since I'm out to save my own phantom tail here in the deal I just thought I might enlist some help okay?"

"Save your own tail? What could a long dead spook possibly be afraid of? Surely there can't be much that can hurt the already dead." I walked over to the creature and knelt down a little ways away.

The GL shuddered, "Nasty nasty creatures. More alive. Far more powerful than the tame annoyances you see in the city that just yank some money from your purse. I'm talking about Wraiths... The undead shadows of evil that only faintly represent the living warm bodied creatures they once were."

"Wraith as in a ghost? I'm a little lost. I thought you said our ghosts are minor."

He looked quickly at me, "They are. I'm talking about the big Kahunas of the undead. You ever feel the touch of the undead, girl?" he demanded.

Before I could answer his put his paw right through my arm. I gasped and jerked my arm back, feeling like I had dipped my arm into a bucket of ice slush. "Brrrr."

"Exactly. Now imagine what would happen if something undead decided to kill you instead of making you cold," he locked eyes with me. "Wraiths are just cold. All they do is suck the heat out of your body. It's possible to survive that...if you're lucky and the thing is distracted or if you get immediate medical attention." He shuddered again, "But they're worse for the already dead. They absorb ghosts and creatures like me and make us part of them. For every one of us they get, the Wraith gets larger, stronger...and more evil."

"HIIIIIISSSSSS-SSSSSSS"

A sound somewhere between oil hitting a hot pan and a really mad Aisha hissing filled the room. The Ghost Lupe's eyes widened in terror as a thing of pure darkness oozed under the door and reared up before him. With a howl of terror the GL leaped through the back wall and vanished, his echoing howls faded...leaving us alone with it.

The Wraith hissed again and oriented on me, since I was the closest. I lunged to the side and barely missed getting hit by the thing. The wooden floor crackled, and a sheet of ice was left on the floor where it had been.

Luvin grabbed my arm and hauled me over the back of the couch as the thing oriented again.

"Run!" I shouted at my pets, and there was a scramble for the doorway. They knew we could fight to protect ourselves.

We morphed into our pet forms and screamed battle cries at the Wraith. It answered with its own hissing roar and blasted our fur and feathers with cold.

A head formed from the pool of darkness, looking something like a Scorchio. But the head was all there was. The rest was just a cloud of darkness. It passed over a table, leaving a sheet of ice wherever it went like some sort of ice slug.

Luvin, in the form of a faerie Kougra, grabbed her million-degree sword from its sheath on the fireplace mantle and drew it, ready to fight ice with fire. Heat rolled off of the weapon in waves, warming us a little, even though the room itself was getting unbearably cold.

I grabbed my own weapons, which I had acquired after the whole Dark Faerie battle, a pair of fine chain mail gauntlets armed with sharp steel claws that fit over my natural ones. I had every elemental power at my call when I wore these. Now I charged up with Light magic. I hated fighting, but there were times when it was necessary.

The Wraith lunged at us, engulfing us both in its terrible cold. I screamed and heard Luvin do the same next to me. Desperate for air in the suffocating cold, I fought to take a breath to activate my abilities.

Then Luvin gasped out "Sun Ray" and released her ability through her sword. Light flared so brightly that I had to close my eyes. The Wraith screeched in rage and vanished as the pure light energy surged into the room.

To be continued…


	2. R & R Reassurances and Research

Silence descended and I lowered my numbed paws and looked around. Total silence except for the faint ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway.

Then, tentatively; "M-mom? Are you okay? Alkuna?" Serifinan, Luvin's rainbow Zafara, slowly peered into the room.

"We're okay," Luvin said, and blew out a long breath. She shifted back into human form and wiped frozen strands of hair out of her face.

I changed back as well and raised the palm of my hand toward the fireplace. "Fireball," I commanded, and a ball of flame shot from my hand into the fireplace, setting the log ablaze. Slowly the room began to warm up again.

"Well that was fun," Alkuna grumped from behind Serifinan, "Let's NOT do that again huh? I don't like hearing my mom scream and not be able to do anything about it." Her normally harsh expression had changed to shaken and if I hadn't known any better, downright terrified for me.

It took a long time to calm the pets, and the younger ones insisted on sharing the bed with the older siblings. Vhai was squeezing his Poogle plushie, Woobly, so tightly I was afraid the stuffing would come out. I left everyone with a nightlight in my half of the house and once everyone was settled I went back downstairs. Luvin came down shortly after I did and from the looks of her, had been giving the same reassurances that I had.

"What's the game plan?" she asked me tiredly, "You know time runs the same in our world as this one now. We don't have the Fyora's little shortcut anymore. My mom is gonna have a fit when I disappear for several days...not to mention my boyfriend..."

"Maybe not," I reminded her, "We'll set the answering machine to take all calls from our parents. Then just call them both and say we're on a business trip for our jobs."

"That's my Eyrie," she said with a wry smile, "Okay, so we know that these Wraith's are undead, have a connection to water or ice, and a big thing for darkness. Who do we know of among the baddies who match up somewhere with those things?"

I bit my lip, "Not that many. The Gallery of Evil doesn't cover everything. There are a lot of baddies out there what haven been researched very well and were only noted on cards."

I pulled down Vhai's binder of collectable cards and thumbed through it slowly. "Count Von Roo, the vampire... Hubrid Nox that nasty Chia...Captain Dread the skeletal Kiko... the Snowager...The Shadow Usul... and our little friend the Dark Faerie."

"What about Sloth?" She paused me on a page.

I shook my head, "I wouldn't rule him out entirely I guess, but he has no control over darkness, ice or the undead. He's more for technology and mutations than magic and undead. And if he did, these things would have turned on him and wiped him out. I would think such an evil genius would be smarter than to do something as stupid as that."

"You sure have a high opinion of him," Luvin teased, "Why? Getting sweet on him?"

We had a brief but fierce pillow fight over that before we laughingly got back to business.

"Okay, first thing tomorrow we'll go to Roo Island, stock up on some garlic and make a trip to his castle to see what we can find." Luvin didn't sound all that thrilled about it.

***

We arrived at Roo's castle sometime in the early morning, but though the sun was blazing brightly all around us, the Count's lair remained dingy looking.

"It's days like this when being a Hero just ain't all it's cracked up to be." I sighed, and walked with Luvin through the gates.

Most of the castle was full of dust and cobwebs, but still managed to keep a kind of noble pride in its slowly decaying furniture. We went up a broad set of stairs and into a room. A quick look around told us that we were on a balcony above the dining room. The long table below us was set for a dinner that never happened. A thick layer of dust coated everything.

"Vell, vell now..." hissed a cold voice in my ear.

Now I was already jumpy enough as it is, but when a cold vampire voice talks to me right next to my neck, I naturally freaked.

I let out a piercing yell and jerked to the side, forgetting that we were on the second floor. I hit the railing, and kept on going as the rotting wood gave way. It was only a split second before I was in Eyrie form, flapping desperately in the air to keep from falling. I was only half successful, and landed with only a slightly softer whump on the table below the balcony.

Muttering pirate phrases about bilge rats, I began delicately prying forks out of my sides. "So this is where the Hidden Tower gets its bent forks," I grumbled, prying a final fork out of my posterior. "Ouch!"

"Alkuna are you all right?" Luvin's voice was somewhat strained.

"No." I grumped, "But I'll live." I flapped my way back up to the second floor and glowered back at the amused shadow with glowing red eyes.

"My dear Alkuna, you should be more careful," the Count said, smiling and showing a little too much fang for my comfort.

I opened my mouth to retort my usual rude comment when someone says something stupid, but decided against it. It could get too literal in a hurry; he really would bite me. Instead I clacked my beak and growled, "We're here to ask you some questions Von Roo."

"By all means. I always velcome young blood." He bowed gallantly and opened a door to a large room.

Luvin and I traded looks, walked in a little stiffly and settled down on a couch while Von Roo made himself comfortable in a mouldering velvet chair.

"We wanna know if you're responsible for the Wraiths that have been turning up lately." Luvin cut right to the point. Good girl.

Roo looked taken aback. "V-Vraiths? The Vraiths are back?" He shook himself a little and to my surprise he looked frightened.

"Back?" I asked, feeling a little bolder now that he showed some emotion other than arrogance and amusement.

He sighed, "No... I suppose you vouldn't know young one. It happened only ten years ago, before you humans came to Neopia and took us NeoPets under your vings. Whole packs of Lupes vould be found frozen stiff in the morning. Chias vould hide in Lupe dens. It vould have been a catastrophe for the Chias, if the Lupes had not been too busy being terrified of the same thing. Even the Swamp Ghoul was terrified. No one knew vhat stirred them up."

"Any idea what pushed them back to wherever they came from?" I asked curiously. But Roo shook his head, "I cannot tell you any more my dear lady. I vas spending most of my time here in the castle resting and... hiding from the Vraiths. I can only speculate. Either the Faeries themselves did it, or the arrival of you humans gave the Vraiths something to be concerned about and they left on their own."

We thanked Von Roo and made our way back outside.

"Okay... not him..." I said, "He seemed to be telling the truth about being cooped up in...ouch! Luvin! What in the...?"

"Sorry Alkuna. But hold still. You've still got splinters of banister sticking out of your side." Luvin carefully pulled several splinters out of my ribs, "Who's next?"


	3. If the Puzzle Fits

"Hubrid Nox... ouch! Heaven knows how we'll interview that creepy Chia." I sighed with relief as Luvin pulled the last splinter out of my hide and looked over the notes I had made for finding our suspects.

"Hmm. A mansion in the Haunted Woods. Great. Just great. You feel up to it?"

"Yeah. Plenty of light left for the flight and the interview. Although tonight I'm scheduled for a nervous breakdown followed by an hour or two of cowering in a brightly lit room." I shook my head.

Luvin laughed a little. I was mostly being sarcastic about the last sentence but she knew how I felt.

A little past noon we arrived at the abandoned construction site of Hubrid's mansion and we angled down for a landing. This place would be absolutely beautiful when it was done. Well, beautiful in a sinister sense. The artwork and the statues were all masterpieces... masterpieces of freakish monsters and misshapen decorations. A winged monster statue faced us as we walked through the front gate, claws splayed in a frozen attack position. The front door creaked slowly open as we approached.

"Hello?" Luvin called out, "Anyone order pizza?"

I held back a laugh, "Luvin!"

"Whaaat?" she grinned and shrugged at me. "Well I could say 'Avon calling' but Neopia doesn't have Avon..."

We walked into the foyer, calling out to Hubrid.

"Yes...yes... I hear you..." came a whispery voice, and a Chia in a dark cloak seemed to flow into the room, "What do you want?"

"We're here to ask you about the Wraiths."

"You waste my time," Hubrid hissed, curling his lip in a sneer.

Gee, I thought, He's got fangs just like von Roo.

"Time wasting or no, I think you should answer our questions," I said firmly flaring my electric blue wings and lightly rubbing the blue jewels in my amulet.

Hubrid looked amused, "Guardian's of Neopia? Heh heh heh... How quaint. Well little Guardian, you've got no business here. I have nothing to do with the Wraiths and they have nothing to do with me."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Luvin demanded.

Hubrid waved a dismissive hand, "Why would I? I want to rule Neopia. What good would it do me to set the Wraiths loose? They destroy and kill. Nothing more. A dead planet is no good to me."

I stared, and then nodded slowly, "Gruesome but a good point. Much as I hate the idea, you can't be a King without subjects."

Sighing we walked out of Hubrid's mansion.

"Well another dead end," I sighed, "Who's next? Luvin? Yo Luv... Hey what's wrong?"

"That statue..." she breathed, pointing toward the winged monster we had seen while coming in.

"Huh? What about it?" I looked over. Yeah it was still ugly as heck, and still as threatening as ever.... And it was facing us as we were walking out the front door.

"That statue..." she repeated, "Wasn't it facing the other way?"

Something dark oozed out of the statue and joined the pooling darkness in the yard. A few seconds later, we saw something dark and formless dart like lightning out of the yard and into the Haunted Woods.

We traded quick looks and lunged after it. Wherever it was going, it would be a step in the right direction to finding its master. What we didn't think of until we were in the trees, was that the forest was awfully dark and that there were hundreds of places where untold numbers of Wraiths could wait in ambush.

HIIIIIISSSSSS-SSSSSSS

"Uh oh." The familiar vicious hiss froze us in our tracks.

Another Wraith poured out of the underbrush to bar our path. Several more began their hissing all around us. We were surrounded.

"Ssssstop trying to interfere." The one in front of us hissed, forming a head like an Aisha's, "You dig your own gravessssss. The Queen of Ssshhhhadowssss will ssssee you both frozen for your perssssissstance."

I traded a look with Luvin. Queen of Shadows? Well, well... that certainly narrowed it down for us.

"Go back to your Master, cowering like the fraidy cat you are," Luvin growled, placing a hand on her sword.

The Wraith hissed in fury and leaped for us, but we were ready.

"Sun Ray!" we both yelled, and the light exploded around us, turning night into day for a brief moment. A beam from my paw lanced through the Wraith and it gave a hissing cry before disintegrating. The others shrieked in fury and retreated from the light.

Instantly our wings snapped open and we clambered up tree trunks like Myncis. As soon as we were high enough we leaped high into the air and flew up and away, flapping hard until the brightly lit streets of Neopia Central lay below us.

Together, we slipped into our house and turned on every light available in the front room. I decided I felt safer in my Eyrie form, armed with sharp claws and a beak, and curled up on the couch. I was exhausted, but there was no sleeping for me tonight. I stared tensely at a wall, reviewing the day's events in my mind.

Something large moved out of the kitchen. I squalled like a parrot and shot straight up, burying my Eyrie claws into the ceiling.

Luvin stood at the entrance to the kitchen, looking amused with two cups of hot chocolate in her hand. "A little tense Alkuna?"

"Just a little bit...Luvin," I managed to pull free of the ceiling and land without too much racket on the floor, returning to my human form. "So..." I sighed, "Queen of Shadows. That means the Shadow Usul or Atera."

She nodded and handed me a cup, "I've been thinking....Atera would probably have a major grudge against us, but she still wouldn't profit by setting the Wraith's loose. Like Hubrid, she'll prefer to have slaves over dead bodies."

I took a big swig of my chocolate and thought it over, "Okay, so one challenge dealt with. Next one: How in the name of Fyora are we going to find that darn Usul and fight her?"

Luvin frowned thoughtfully, then her eyes narrowed in concentration, "What's the darkest, deepest place that the Shadow Usul could be? The Gallery of Evil says she's always around Neopia Central so that narrows our search pattern."

Alkuna, my Lupe, slunk in the door front door to the mansion just then, and for a second I panicked, fearing that something had gotten a hold of her. She walked oddly, with her shoulders raised up and her head carried low as though she were hunchbacked. Her walk was uneven, and she seemed to half sway, half limp into the house. Her cloud coat was ruffled as though scuffed up from several brutal fights. Her golden eyes glared balefully around the room and her lip curled ever so slightly.


	4. Every Time I Hit Bottom

Luvin tensed, "Alkuna...? Are you all right?"

"Kuna hun, what happened to you?" I walked hesitantly over to her.

Alkuna shook off as though shedding water from a swim. Abruptly her fur smoothed, she raised her head and she stopped baring her teeth. She now looked like the classy, if normally grumpy Lupe she always was.

"Nothin's wrong with me Mum. I just got back from prowling the rough part of town like I always do. That's how I look when I go out there. It keeps the thugs from messin' with me." Alkuna tossed her head, "And funny, but I heard you two talking about the darkest place in Neopia Central. Well I just came back from there. If there's ever a creepy, largely unexplored place in the whole lot, I'd say I found the best."

Alkuna sat down, grinning slightly, knowing she had our full attention. She scratched an itch lazily, enjoying the attention then looked each of us in the eyes, "The Art Centre," she said simply.

"Of course," I breathed, "Only a fraction of those catacombs are being used. Think of how many caves are just left in total darkness and silence."

"Any evidence that the Wraiths or the Shadow Usul are there?" Luvin asked warily.

"Which would you like? The unnatural hissing or the shadows that move and creep around when you're not looking?" Alkuna asked sarcastically.

***

Indeed, the shadows really did seem to move as we made our way into the darker recesses of the Art Centre. We stepped carefully, armed only with two lanterns and our weapons.

HIIIIIISSSSSS-SSSSSSS

A Kougra Wraith separated from the shadows to block our path. "Sssstand away mortalsssss. You are in way over your head..."

Luvin took a deep breath and growled, "We've come to send a message to the Shadow Usul; the time has come. We will not allow her to continue."

The Kougra Wraith turned away slowly and melted into the shadows again, "I will go deliver the messssssage..."

Silence descended. Luvin and I traded looks and then made our way deeper. The walls of the tunnel vibrated briefly and we ducked as dirt and pebbles rained down on us from the ceiling above.

"I don't think she's happy about the message," I muttered.

Slowly the slick tunnel walls changed and gave way to shiny black rock. If I hadn't known better I would have said we were in a cave of obsidian; which meant that there was an extinct volcano under Neopia central. A closer look reassured me that it was not volcanic but I couldn't tell much more than that. It was almost as if the shadows had been turned solid. Very creepy. The narrow walls opened out to a massive cavern.

What we saw next was enough to drop my stomach down to somewhere around the pads of my feet. The Wraiths were everywhere. And there was no counting them. Row upon row of "lightless" Neopet heads appeared above their formless bodies. Black eyes oriented on us as we stepped into the cavern. A slow soft hissing rose to that of a loud whisper and continued as we made our way down an aisle that cleared for the two of us.

And there she was, on a raised dais at the other end of the cavern; the Shadow Usul herself. She was so solid looking that it was a relief to see a normal form of Neopet after so many floating pools of darkness.

Glowing golden eyes glared at us from pitch-black fur and a wild looking purple ruff of hair ringed her neck.

"So, this is the duo who are supposed to be the Guardian's of Neopia? Not much to look at." Her voice was completely different from the hissing voices of the other Wraiths. It was flat, emotionless...and hungry.

Luvin's ears plastered themselves to the sides of her Kougra skull and she growled deep in her throat.

The Shadow Usul flicked a glance at Luvin and twitched her tail in amusement, "You think you can threaten me kitty cat?" She slunk slowly down the steps, her eyes never leaving Luvin's. "Tell me, can you truly think that a little light will stop all of us? You may stop a dozen, but even a flame can be overcome by the darkness if there is enough of it."

"Darkness is not a solid entity Shadow Usul," I sail coolly, "Thus darkness alone cannot quench light. It merely makes the light seem brighter."

I could swear the Shadow Usul smiled, though there was no real way to tell on that black on black face. She turned to me and slowly circled me, eyeing me up and down, "Can't it?" she purred, and rubbed against me like a cat.

I shuddered. That creature was COLD. There was nothing solid in that form, just darkness and a burning cold. She flicked her bushy tail across my face, making it ache and forcing me to retreat from the cold.

Then she was away and rubbed against Luvin, who's eyes widened and she too shuddered at the feel of the Usul's icy touch.

"How can you control the Wraiths...or do you..?" Luvin asked, her paw sliding to her Million-degree sword warily.

"Ahhh. How cliché. The 'hero' tries to get the 'villain' to unmask her whole plot." The Usual slid away from Luvin, her tail flicking in an almost cheery manner.

"Well, for the sake of conversation I shall answer your question." She paced among and through the other Wraiths, and they seemed to gaze at her with an almost worshipful awe. "I am disappointed in you though. Haven't you figured it out? I AM a Wraith. But not just any... no. I am the first of them all. And the only one who can form my body to resemble what I looked like in life."

"What made you all come back into active status, as it were?" I asked, remembering what von Roo had said.

"I am the strongest of the Wraiths, so I never went inactive. But I became concerned when the faeries came to Neopia to tame the lands and the pets for the arrival of humans. The Light and Fire Faeries obliterated half of my people before I could lead them into the safety of the Catacombs. I studied you humans and was in for a surprise...you're all weak."

"So that's why you started turning your people loose," I said softly, "You think we can't stop you. And with so many Ghosts and other undead to feed upon you think it's paradise."

***

Luvin slowly and quietly backed her way to the wall while the Shadow Usual and I had our conversation and climbed above us all until she was as close to the roof of the cavern as possible. I hoped she knew what she was doing or we were all in trouble. It was true; with so many Wraiths about, there was no way that I could see for the two of us to make it out alive.

Luvin narrowed her eyes and touched the wall, invoking her Earth powers. A tremor shook the walls slightly as an earthquake passed through the solid stone...and found the open air of the tunnels at each end of the cavern. Tension built instantly, and slowly the ground began to crackle and creak. It would take a while, but soon the energy would collapse the tunnels leading to this cavern.

More time was needed. Luvin crept back down to the floor and touched my shoulder, whispering softly, "When you hear the rock start to collapse, teleport us out of here and fast..."

***

I nodded ever so slightly and Luvin sat next to me, her narrowed eyes taking in the arrogant swagger that the Shadow Usul had built herself up to.

"Oh a paradissse indeed little Eyrie," she said, her voice starting to hiss softly with emotion.

I scowled. I was short as a human, and only a few...very few... were allowed to call me "little." I saw Luvin's eyes widen slightly even as my own eyes narrowed and took on a dangerous gleam.

A powerful rumble was building quickly and a fine dust began to sift into the cavern as the pressure started to pulverise the rock around us. Just a little more time...

My wings exploded open and I lunged into the air, hovering high above the startled Wraiths and the Shadow Usul. I shrieked an Eyrie cry and splayed my sharp steel covered talons, "Well come on then! If we are so weak and small then take me if you can! Face me Usul, if you have the power!"

"Careful Alkuna," Luvin breathed, her words impossible to hear over the rising rumble of stone, "I'm supposed to be the one with the temper..."

The other Wraiths shifted restlessly as small rocks began to take the place of the powdered dust that was falling on us now. But the Shadow Usul was paying too much attention to my display. She gave a hissing laugh and leaped into the air at me.

My gauntlets darkened to pure black as I met shadow with darkness. And suddenly my grasping paws had her! She was solid when faced with more darkness. I gave a caw like a Crokabek and the steel claws dug into the shocked Usul's hide and began draining her power. She screamed in pain and surprise and swiped at my face. I hurled her from me and plunged to the floor, seizing Luvin in my powerful paws and hauling her off the floor as I pulled out of my dive.

The Usul shrieked in rage as the rumble escalated to a roar and the tunnels collapsed, bringing down boulders at either end. "Destroy them!"

The Wraiths hissed as one and rose in a mass of freezing darkness.

"Teleport!" I shrieked above the roar and we disappeared even as our flanks burned with the touch of the first ice cold Wraith.


	5. The Reward for a Hard Job is Another One

We tumbled out the other end of the teleport in a heap, and I squawked as we hit smooth marble floor and slid down the long, art decked corridor leading to Fyora's throne room.

I coughed out a mouthful of dust and for the moment, ignored the NeoPet guards that charged into the hall and slid to a stop at seeing our bedraggled state.

"Luvin, *cough* if I ever want to go spelunking again, *cough* please remind me how much I hate caves." I said, slowly pulling myself to my paws and wincing as a sharp pain shot through my shoulders. Lovely. Felt like I had pulled something while lifting Luvin's weight.

She muttered something darkly from her upside down position at a wall and shoved away from it, causing her hind paws to swing down out of the air and back to the ground where they belonged.

We were both so covered in dust that we were totally gray and a fine trickle of it poured off of both of us. Luvin made a spitting sound and growled, "They say you eat a pound of dirt in a year. I've discovered two pounds in an hour. Ptooie!"

After pulling ourselves together, the guards escorted us to the Faerie Queen's Throne Room to report.

"It seems that you two have been quite busy," Fyora said, looking us both over mildly, "Care to explain why the tunnels leading into the deeper catacombs have collapsed? I assure you the Art Centre is still intact, but the citizens of Neopia are not pleased with having a cloud of dust roar out of the tunnels and coat everything."

It took at least two hours to explain the whole thing and finally she sat back with a nod and a sigh, "Well, then I suppose we are all very lucky aren't we? I have to say Luvin, that idea was very good thinking. Even the Wraiths cannot get through several tons of rock. For now, they are trapped and harmless. It will take time for us to get prepared to dig in and deal with the Wraiths, but it will be done."

I sat on my haunches with a plop, raising a small cloud of dust out of my fur. By the Faeries... I needed a bath.... "Excellent... But Your Majesty...we are both tired, and filthy. If you are willing to excuse us, we'll be on our way out of your immaculate palace to get some rest. I am sure your chamberlain will be grateful." I glanced at a prim looking Shoyru, who looked ready to explode at the dust we were leaving on the floor.

Fyora smiled and nodded, "Very well. But if you will both come forward I would like to reward you for your efforts."

We approached her and bowed. Fyora reached out and touched a stone on each of our pendants, making them glow with a soft blue light before the light faded, "You now have the power to take on your Neopet forms outside of Neopia," she whispered very softly to us, "Do not ask questions, and do not use them without your ability to go invisible. You MUST understand this."

We nodded, looking puzzled by the urgency in her voice. She knew something and wasn't going to tell us. Tired of it all for a while, we simply leaned against each other and teleported home.

***

I sagged in my computer chair, exhausted but unable to go to bed just yet. I was clean...finally... but I needed to feed my pets before I climbed into bed. I signed onto Neopets one more time and checked on them. Yes, they were hungry.

Suddenly the image of Alkuna began to change. Her usual fierce smile changed to a grouchy scowl and the images of all four of them began to distort. I scrambled back from the computer as the screen bulged outward. I did NOT want to be dragged through the screen again. But nothing was pulling me in... Something was coming out!

There was a yelp, and Alkuna tumbled through the screen, followed by my other three pets. I went pale. Oh this was just great...

The phone rang and I picked it up. For a moment, all I heard on it was the angry barking of Luvin's dogs, and then Silverblur yelled back, "Oh yeah?! Well YOUR father herds Slorgs for a living!!" More barking.

"Oh Alkuna..." said Luvin, sounding very tired, "We have a problem..."

The End


End file.
